1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate to the preservation of digital information generally, and more specifically to automated backup of digital information.
2. Related Art
One of the conveniences of digital data is its ease of manipulation. Files in a computer system can be edited, moved, copied, and deleted quickly and easily. Unfortunately, digital data is also very easy to lose. One mistyped command, or a virus-infected file, or a hard drive failure is enough to wipe out thousands of files, each of which may be valuable.
At least three factors influence the value of electronically stored data. If the data required large amounts of time to enter into a computer, the loss of that data means that more time will have to be spent to recreate it. For example, a business may have a database where all of their vendor information is stored. If the hard drive containing the database crashes, even if it is possible to recreate that database, it would require significant time to do so.
Some files have an associated monetary cost. For example, some software companies allow you to purchase software for download over the Internet. If those files are destroyed by a virus, and must be repurchased, the loss of those files represents the loss of the money used to purchase them.
Other files are truly unique, and the loss of those files may be the most costly. A digital picture of an historic event, or email records of years of business communication, cannot be recreated and cannot be repurchased. No amount of time or money can restore unique data, once it is lost.
One solution to the problem of the preservation of digital information is to store that information in another location, a process frequently described as “backing up” the data, or creating a backup. Uniformly, however, the backup process is inconvenient. In some cases, a backup is created by manually copying files to an alternate location, such as a stack of floppy disks or a second hard drive, a process which requires time. In other cases, automated backup software is used to create backups. Such software can, at best, be set to trigger at a particular time, which can be inconvenient for someone trying to use the computer at that given time. Additionally, these automated backup processes are slow to act. Often, several minutes pass while the software is examining the computer system, before any data is backed up.
Prior art backup systems are all preventative; in order to have any value at all, they must be utilized before any actual crisis situation occurs. Such systems cannot react to a situation by immediately backing up crucial data. Nor can existing systems determine whether there is a need to backup crucial data.